I Will Follow You Into the Dark
by bloodybat
Summary: R and Hannah were best friends, except he can't remember that and she wants him, and everyone else dead. There also might be a slight problem with the city that they've made their home in that's made worse when the undead come out to play. RxOC
1. Chapter 1

Despite the curtains being drawn light flooded the room. They were cheap. It was something she had always mentioned during the numerous times she had stayed at his house. The minute the sun was up, so was she, but he was never bothered.  
This time though, it was slightly different. It was the best nights sleep she had for months, a sleep without nightmares, without waking up in a cold sweat. Being up early didn't bother her when she felt so refreshed.  
It was also different because instead of sleeping on the floor she was in his bed, next to him.  
They didn't really plan it, it just happened. Everyone said they would eventually, but those particular everyones were dead and that was the only comfort they could provide to each other.  
She looked around the room that she had pretty much spent the past seven years growing up in and very little had changed. It was still the same cold shade of grey with the crappy tv on the desk in the corner..  
'Hungry?' He yawned, rolling onto the floor the way he always did. Couldn't possibly get out of bed the conventional way. Nothing about him was ever conventional.  
'Not really.'  
'I'll get cereal.' He stumbled out the room trying to put on his jeans.  
He could, if he wanted, have walked around the house completley naked. No one was occupying it apart from the pair. They'd left the moment they were told to and tried to drag him along but with no success. There wasn't much point in running. They didn't know if the safe zone really was just that.  
It turned out not to be. He found out a week later on one of the last news broadcasts that the camp had been taken over and they were as good as dead.  
That's when she came over. She didn't want him to be alone.  
She got up and walked to the wardrobe, half taken up by her clothes. She spent a few moments choosing what to wear, style wasn't important anymore, before walking over to the window and parting the curtains slightly. She was blinded temporarily but quickly saw the last remaining neighbours packing their cars.  
The house opposite was occupied by five people. Husband, wife, older son, younger daughter and the mother-in-law. The husband and the older son were standing either side of the open trunk of the car that was backed against the front door. Each was holding large mallets, used by the husband in his now defunt building business.  
The younger daughter was already strapped in the back of the car. She could just about make out the blondes paniced face. Mother and mother-in-law were rushing in and out of the house throwing various bags in the back, everything they hoped that would be useful when they got away.  
'They're leaving.' She sighed, looking over her shoulder slightly at him as he entered the room carrying a box of Coco Pops, shoving a handful in his mouth.  
He stood behind her and joined in with the observation of the exit of the family at number 19.  
After knowing her for so long he never noticed the height different between them, although to be fair he was very tall. She barely reached his shoulder. He ruffled her hair.  
'They're idiots.' He declared. 'Nothing's here yet.'  
'Exactly. They don't want to risk it any longer.'  
There was silence for a moment.  
'Are you saying you want to go too?' He asked.  
'I don't know.'  
It was the truth. At first when he said he was going to stay, she was okay with it. She knew they were doomed and didn't have a problem with living out her days here, but the more she thought about it the more she didn't want to go without a fight. They were just sitting and waiting to be zombie food, although he said that would never happen, but then what?  
He was back on the bed, leaning against the wall, holding the box between his knees.  
She sat next to him, resting her head on his chest and grabbed a handful of cereal.  
'Have we got much left?'  
'No, but I suppose we could always resort to cannibalism.' He sniggered.  
'Well you're the one being eaten first, there's more meat on you.' There was. He wasn't tall and lanky, he was quite well built despite the fact he was far from athletic.  
'I'm probably delicious.'  
She hit his arm. 'Don't say that!'  
'Why?'  
'It's just weird.'  
The pair lay there for some time lost in their own little worlds. It was a strange time to be alive. You wouldn't really think when all the people around you left that there would be such a silence. Even if you didn't live on a busy street or had a big family, the lack of background noise was quickly noticeable.  
All they could hear was each others breathing and the faint, hurried conversation of number 19.  
Except it wasn't so faint, not from all of the voices.  
They looked at each other and ran across to the window.  
The daughter was yelling, pointing at the end of the street, where sure enough, there they were.  
Five of them. Not slow ones either. Speed wasn't an usual thing. it varied zombie to zombie like it did with people.  
The mother had dropped one of the bags and was trying to quickly pick up the contents. The father ran up to his wife, yelling and opening the back door of the car, trying to push her in, however in doing so, another occupant of the veichle, a small brown dog ran out barking loudly. The daughter, knowing the danger, followed, trying to grab her companion.  
A few doors up a door opened. A grey haired man ran out, armed with the cliched baseball bat and he chased after the girl, who was getting ever closer to the..  
Blackness replaced the scene as a pair of hands were places over her eyes.  
'R-'  
'No.'  
For the next few moments screams filled the air. She had been quite lucky for this to have been the only time she had heard such terror. It was indescribable, the sounds of people being eaten alive.

-

She had been staring at the bodies for the past twenty minutes, not in a state of shock, but general curiosity. You couldn't tell who was who when all you could see were their insides, and they were being quickly consumed by the zombies.  
'Catch.' He said, throwing a full purple rucksack in her direction.  
She caught it. 'What's this for?'  
'What do you think?'  
'Are you being serious? All the times we could have left and you want to do it when those.. things?! They're outside and, an-'  
'And my car is just in the garage.' He added.  
'The garage is outside.'  
'So it is. I'll meet you by the door.' He left the room zipping up a red hoodie he had decided on wearing.  
She grabbed her shoes from the wardrobe and took her time lacing them up, taking what she hoped wasn't, but knew was probably going to be a last look at the room.  
Throwing the rucksack over her shoulder she sighed, stopping briefly at the bedside table. She opened the small draw and quickly found what she was looking for. A small smile appeared on her face and she put the item in the pocket of her jeans before making her way downstairs.


	2. Chapter 2

****_A/N: Hey, I had a review. I like those.  
I appreciate it, and you won't actually find out the answer to your question for a while, but it's not a gun or anything like that. What would R be doing with one of those anyway..  
This chapter is a bit fillerish. I had to keep re-writing bits and it's probably not as good as it could be but the next one won't suck half as bad (if you think this one sucks that is)._

'Wait.' She said.  
'What?'  
'Shouldn't we take a weapon or something?'  
He laughed. 'It hardly worked for the mess on the pavement out there, did it?'  
'That's true.'  
He could tell she was nervous. Having doubts even though she had always been the one wanting to leave.  
'I want you to be safe, and you're not going to be staying here. I'm not going to let anything happen to you.' He reassured her, kissing her on the cheek as he took the keys out of his pocket.  
'Okay.'  
She was far from a whimp. She loved horror movies, was always doing crazy activites, had been in hospital with broken bones more than anyone she knew, but this was different. No one could tell her this would end well. Apart from him. It was funny that he kissed her. He didn't even do that the night before..  
She was scared.  
'Ladies first.' Typical, always trying to make light of the situation.  
He tried to open the door as quietly as possible, but they picked it up. One of them, a woman, looked up, a chunk of flesh hanging from her mouth.  
'Move!' He hissed, pushing her out of the way and running over to open the garage.  
The keys rattling, the squeak of the door, the beep of the car unlocking. It didn't just get the womans attention this time, it got them all and they were advancing.  
'Damn it, start!' She heard him shout from inside the car after it wouldn't start the first time.  
'Oh please work, come on.' She muttered, edging ever closer to the car.  
He tried starting it again. And again. And again. And they they were getting nearer. They were on the path now. It was only a small wooden fence. They were stepping over it, groaning, reaching out for her.  
'Yes!' He yelled as the engine roared in to life, pulling the car out enough so she could jump in the passenger side. She threw open the door just as they were infront of the house.  
'I've always hated this car!' She spat at him.  
He just laughed and put his foot down, smashing through the fence and putting them on the main road.  
She had to give it to the zombies. They were relentless. They ran after them for a good 20 minutes before they got distracted by a burnt out bus, no doubt full of rotting flesh.  
He turned on the radio and was surprised to find his regular station still broadcasting. It was a bad signal, but they were in the middle of nowhere. It just seemed to be an endless stream of warnings and information.  
Stay at home. Don't go out. Thousands are trying to leave the country. They're going to shut the borders soon. Stay at home. If you're not out by today, no one is coming for you.  
'Let's turn that off shall we?' She asked, reaching across and changing it to a cd instead. 'Frank Sinatra? Really?'  
'What's wrong with Frank?' He asked.  
'Nothing.'  
The drive was silent for the next hour. He was just starting straight ahead, lost in his own thoughts of finding somewhere safe to go, or somewhere that might give them extra time, extra time for what, he wasn't sure. The landscape she was fixated on outside the passenger window proved to him that things were alot worse than he thought.  
Any buildings they passed were either boarded up or smashed in. There were cars every few miles, shut off with no signs of their owners. It was strange not seeing streets full of people. He wondered where they were and if they were alive.  
She moved the chair back and put her legs on the dashboard.  
'Hey!' He snapped. 'Feet off.'  
'There's like no leg room in this thing!'  
'I don't care, it's still new!'  
It began to rain the minute the car passed into a new town.  
'Where are we going anyway?' She asked.  
He sighed and pulled the car over, not that there was much need too. It was a fairly desolate landscape.  
'I haven't got a clue.' His head hit the steering wheel. 'I thought by now maybe I would have an idea or something but look at it out there! There's nothing. Unless you have any ideas we might as well just find a house or something to crash in.'  
She shifted uncomfortably. 'You've changed your tone. What happened to the 'fuck the zombies' attitude you had last week?'  
He just shrugged. He had taken to doing that alot recently.  
She leant over to the back seat and rummaged through her backpack, taking out a bag of popcorn. That was indeed something she had packed in case of emergency.  
'Want some?'  
'No.'  
'Suit yourself.'  
It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. In the time she had been staying with him it wasn't hard to notice the fact that he almost never slept. She would wake up in the middle of the night and open her eyes just a little to usually see him sitting by the door. That or looking out the window.  
He had always acted like nothing ever bothered him but it was far from true now, it had to be. His family was gone. How could he not be affected by that?

The engine started and she jolted awake.  
'It's getting dark. We should move.'  
Although they were in a car, being outside at night was not a wise thing to do.  
It wasn't like the zombies only appeared at night, it was just more difficult to see them if they were approaching. They were alot more difficult to get away from if you couldn't see where you were going, and considering the electricity had shut off in most places, it was a common problem.  
They drove off of the main road towards a small housing estate. It was a long shot.

'Talk about trying to keep a low profile.' He laughed as they spotted a small house in the distance with a porch light on.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you for the new reviews and i've had, to me, quite a few people watching this story~  
I would have liked to have this chapter up sooner but i've been writing alot for future ones, which I am very excited to share with you all so make sure you stick with this!  
Also, if you haven't guessed already, I won't be 'revealing' R's pre-zombie name. It's still up for you to decide.  
Please enjoy!_

'What was your name again?' The woman called Lizzie smiled.  
'Hannah.' She replied quietly.  
'And yours?' She asked the boy next to her.  
'It's R-'  
'Come on I ain't got time for this.' A stocky man with blonde hair tapped his foot on the wooden staircase. Every other step had a candle on, providing the only light in the small hallway.  
'So impatient Connor!' Lizzie snapped at her nephew. 'Come with me Hannah and i'll make you a coffee whilst he shows your friend around.'

'My room.' Connor pointed, walking down the corridor. 'Liz & Alans.. Frenchies.. Bathroom.'  
He pushed the door into the equally dark bathroom open.  
It too was lit with candles. They were everywhere providing just enough light to see but not to be seen by them outside, even though the windows were boarded up they weren't taking any chances.  
The bathtub was full to the top of what he could only assume was dirty water.  
'The water don't work so much anymore, so you gotta make it last.' Connor told him. 'Share and all that.'  
'Nice..'  
'You smell like the girl.' He said, staring up at the perplexed face of his new guest.  
'I what?'  
'The girl.'  
'Hannah?'  
'Yeah. You smell like her.'  
He nodded. 'Okay! So.. the rest of this place?' He laughed nervously, backing out of the room and making his way down the stairs.  
'Is she your girlfriend?' Connor asked.  
'No.. not really..' It was the truth. He didn't know where they stood. Sometimes he wanted them to be more than friends but the apocolypse wasn't the best time to bring such things up.  
'Good to know.'

'So is it just you two then?' Lizzie asked, handing her a mug of very weak coffee. There wasn't much left in the house.  
'Yeah. Has been for a while.'  
'Do you mind me asking what happened?'  
'No. My parents set off with my younger brother to Paris where they worked and left me. His parents moved the family to a safe place but died on the way.'  
'That's awful!' Lizzie gasped. 'Why did they leave you?'  
'Because I didn't want to leave him.'  
'Are you a couple?'  
'No.'  
'I was going to say the ages seem a little..'  
'There's not that much difference. Five years.' She shrugged.  
'So he's?'  
'21.'  
'Old enough for you not to be with him!' The woman snapped, leaving the kitchen and heading into the lounge.  
'Weird..' She muttered under her breath as she followed Lizzie.

They were sitting on the sofa opposite Lizzie who was next to Alan, her husband of fourteen years. Connor was standing in the corner by the door with an expression that suggested anyone who left without permission would be beaten to a pulp by him.  
There was also an battered armchair on which sat two more people, a young French girl and a slightly older man with a beard.  
'and that brings us to now.' Alan finished. He had been telling them their story and how they found the others.  
The French girl was named Maddie and was deeply religious. She had been over on a backpacking holiday when her bus crashed and most of her travelling companions had died. The man who was only known as Smith had came to the house the same reason they had. Despiration.  
No one had left the house in over three months apart from an occasional visit to the overgrown back yard.  
They had stocked up on dried food years ago when reports first started coming in and hoped to wait it out. Alan didn't see any point in moving on.  
'Time for bed I think.' Lizze yawned as she stood up and stretched. 'You two will have to sleep on the sofas.' She made a every effort to point at them seperatley and then at a different sofa. 'Go with Maddie and get the blankets will you?' She asked Hannah.  
'Sure.'  
Everyone left leaving Lizzie alone with him.  
Smiling sweetly she walked over to the boy who towered over her.  
'Your friend said you're not together.'  
'We're not.'  
'So, you're available?'  
'No.'  
'Why? Is there someone else?'  
'No.'  
Lizzie came closer to him. He tried to move back but hit the sofa.  
'My husband.. since all this has happened, he's been so preoccupied. He used to be such a passionate ma-'  
'Got them.' Hannah said quietly, her arms full of blankets.  
'Thank fuck.' He muttered.  
'Well, goodnight.' Lizzie waved, winking at him as she shut the door.

'She what?!'  
'Winked at me!'  
'Look at you, getting the old ladies motor going!' She laughed, elbowing him in the rib and resting her head on his chest.  
'Shut up.  
The pair were curled up in the corner of the sofa, one of the least questionably stained blankets over them.  
'You've got to admit it is kind of funny though?'  
'Maybe.' He shrugged, wrapping his arm around her. He looked down at his friend and smiled. Even though all the lights were out in the room now and they were almost in complete darkness he knew exactly how she looked.  
Light brown chin length hair that would never straighten, blue eyes that looked twice as good when she was smiling..  
'Thanks.' She said.  
'For what?'  
'Everything.'


	4. Chapter 4

_**4**__  
A/N: Thanks for the reviews, watches and favourites!  
If you didn't notice, the name has changed to a song by Death Cab for Cutie which is more relevant to the story, check it out some time.  
This chapter was so difficult to write. I had major block which is why it finished it a little early, and I'm really sorry for that but for some reason I have been able to write some really good hefty future chapters which will hopefully more than make up for it.  
_

They had been playing Monopoly for well over two hours now, which was a challenge in itself as the room, even during the day was so dark.  
'Is this it? The rest of my life..' She asked, gently hitting her head against the coffee table.  
'No.' He laughed whilst moving his piece across the board. 'Of course it's not.'  
'Are you sure?'  
Leaning across the table, he lifted her head up, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear and kissed her.  
'Positive.'  
Hannah smiled at her friend and they carried on playing the game in relative silence.  
She wouldn't mind much if this really was the rest of her life, apart from the eventual vitamin d defficiancy, as long as they were together.  
It made her sound dependant, like she was unable to go a day without him and that wasn't true, she was just happier when he was around, and in a world where most peoples lives had been ripped apart it made her feel lucky to know he was still in hers.  
A loud thud came from upstairs and the both looked up. They could just about make out Maddie and Connors voices but they soon went quiet.  
'I wonder what that was about.' Hannah thought out loud as she stood up. 'I'm gonna go see.'  
'Just stay down here.'  
'It's okay, I need to use the bathroom anyway.'  
'Be back in five or I'm coming to find you.' He said.  
'It's just a house, but okay, and don't cheat whilst I'm gone, I know how much money you've got!'  
She walked by the kitchen where the others were and up the stairs where she followed the noise.  
'What did I tell you? Next time, I swear..'  
Hannah was standing outside Maddies room trying to listen to the one sided conversation being held by Connor but it was muffled by the door and any words she could understand were just swearing.  
She stood there for a while until there was another loud thud and the sound of someone walking to the door. Not wanting to get caught eavesdropping, especially by someone who seemed angry she quickly ran halfway down the stairs and turned around to come back up.  
She was three steps from the to before Connor came out of the room and went towards her.  
'What are you doing?' He asked.  
'I was going to the bathroom.'  
'You sure about that?'  
'Positive.'  
'You're lying, what did you hear?'  
He was standing on the same step as her now and pressing her against the wall.  
'I didn't hear anything.'  
'Don't let me catch you sneaking around again, okay?'  
'Or what?' She spat. She didn't like being intimidated by anyone, especially people like him.  
'Or,' he grabbed her by the neck, 'I'll feed you to the zombies.'  
'Good luck with that.'  
They both turned their heads to see him standing at the bottom of the stairs with his arms crossed. He had a blank expression on his face but was staring at Connor.  
He let go of Hannah who winked at him and ran into Maddies room, shutting the door behind her.

Maddie was sitting at the desk in the corner, head in her hands.  
'Yes?' She turned around to face Hannah.  
'I just wondered if you were okay, I hea-'  
'As long as you're here, you stay out of other peoples business.' She took something out of a box on the desk and handed it to her.  
It was money.  
'What's this for?'  
'To get away of here.'  
'The house?'  
'No, the country.' She moved to sit on the edge of the bed and patted the space next to her. 'Come and sit down.'  
'Okay.'  
'You and your friend, I don't know much but you have two things that we don't. Hope, and each other.'  
'A bit lame, but carry on.'  
The look on Maddies face suggested she didn't like being interupted.  
'This country, it's doomed, there is nothing left anymore. It's beyond help from this world, but I believe, somewhere there is a place where things are better but I cannot go.'  
'Why not?'  
'I am alone. No one survives alone. My spirit has been crushed and all I have is faith to put in God, and someone else and hope that they make it out.'  
Hannah wanted to tell Maddie the chances of there being a better place were slim, but didn't want to dampen her spirit.  
'You and him, you need to leave soon. It's not nice here, I know you think it's safer but these people have lost their hope. Please, soon, promise me you'll go?'  
The girl looked at the money in her hand and nodded. 'I promise.'  
'Thank you, and make sure you stay away from Connor. He's the worst.'  
'Will do. Are you sure you're okay though?'  
Maddie nodded. 'Yes, I'm fine now.'

'Boys, please! Stop it now!' Lizzie was standing in between the two arguing over Hannah.  
'What's your problem, I wasn't doing anything!'  
'I was saw you with your hands on her neck.'  
'We were just messing around.'  
'No, _you _were messing around. Just stay the hell away from my girlfriend okay?'  
'She's not your girlfriend!' Both Connor and Lizzie said in unison.  
'You said you weren't together last night.'  
'Agreed.' Lizzie smirked. 'She told me the same.'  
'I don't care. Just leave her alone.'  
Connor laughed, shook his head and walked into the kitchen. 'Don't tell me what to do.'  
'What an asshole.' He muttered.  
Lizzie looked at him upset. 'So she is your girlfriend?'  
'No. I don't know. Why does it matter?'  
'It doesn't. I'd keep an eye on this one!' She directed at Hannah as the girl came down the stairs.  
'I'm sorry?'  
'This one's a bit of a live wire.' Lizzie winked at him before muttering something about needing food and going towards the basement.  
'You've seduced the old lady..'  
'Don't even go there.'  
'What was with you and Connor?'  
'I told him to stay away from you.'  
'I can do that myself, anyway, I need to talk to you about something.'

They had resumed their game but had lost all interest in it, all they could focus on was the money in the middle of the table, around five hundred dollars give or take a few. Neither of them had left his house with much and it was the most money they had seen in a long time.  
'Do you really think there's still going to be flights?'  
'Yeah, of course, whilst there's still people around they'll keep them going.'  
'It's hardly safe out there now..'  
'What other chance have we got? You never know, it might go somewhere nice. Permenant vacation!'  
His optimism sounded forced, like he was saying it just to make her happy but he didn't believe a word of it himself.  
The truth was, he was doing all of this for her. There was nothing else worth waking up for. No more family, friends. Sometimes he was grateful this had happened because it bought back a need to fight for survival, one that he was losing daily when everything was normal. As selfish as it sounded if he knew he was the reason for someone elses happiness, then he could feel a little better.  
'I win.'  
'Huh?'  
Hannah was staring at him from the other side of the table.  
'I win the game.'  
'Oh.'  
'You weren't listening, we're you?'  
'No.'  
She sighed. 'I was saying when shall we leave, if you wany think we can get away.'  
'Tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow.'


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N; LONG CHAPTER AHEAD. Well, longer than the others so far anyway.  
There might be things in this that you think are unresolved and they are for good reason so stick with it!  
Also, is it worth me watching the movie? Like, non-biased reviews on it please.  
Thank you again for the reviews etc!  
_  
'It's locked..' He was staring at the door, still gripping the handle like it would suddenly perform magic.  
'Well, kick it a bit or something!' Hannah hissed.  
'No!' Maddie went over to the boarded up window and tapped it. 'Go out here. There's no glass, just pull it down.'  
'Okay.' Hannah sighed and hugged Maddie. 'Are you sure you don't want to come with us?'  
'I do, but it's not my time anymore. It's you two. You two are going to have a chance, I know it.'  
'But we can't just leave you, not with Connor!'  
'I've had everything from him, I'm not worried and after what he nearly did to you, it's time to go, plus, I don't think your friend wants to relight Lizzies fire.'  
'Damn right I don't, freaky woman..'  
Hannah laughed and let go of Maddie. 'Thank you.'  
It didn't take long before he managed to pull the boards down. Initially the idea was to do it quietly, so as to not disturb the others sleeping upstairs, but they didn't really care anymore and the three squinted as moonlight flooded in through the broken window.  
'You go first, start the car up.' He handed Hannah his keys as he helped her out. 'and try not to break it.'  
'Yeah yeah..Ru revoir, Maddie!' She turned raised her hand to the girl as she jumped down and walked over to the red car, still sitting on the side of the road.  
Someone was moving around upstairs, the floorboards were creaking.  
'Thanks for this.' He tapped his pocket where he had moved the money to.  
'It's fine.'  
'Thanks for helping her out earlier too. I don't really want to think what would have happened-'  
'It wasn't your fault. These people have problems, now you better leave.' In almost perfect timing, Lizzie appeared at the top of the stairs.  
'Where are you going?! Alan, they're leaving!' She started running down the stairs waving her arms in what would have been a comical fashion if it wasn't for what had nearly happened that day.  
He just smiled at Maddie and followed his friend, who was now occupying the drivers seat singing along to a CD that she had just put in, out the window.  
'They're leaving?! Maddie, what did you do?! He was mine! And Connor, oh God he's going to be so angry!'

'Hann, I'm sor-'  
'Don't.'  
They had been driving in silence for a few hours, going slow with the lights off just incase any of the dead were fancying a midnight snack.  
'I thought he was gonna kill me. You know what the worst bit about that is? For the first time since all of this, I felt like I wouldn't make it. Imagine that, in a world where creatures that eat brains walk around, a stupid human would have been the end of me. It was like some weird 28 Days Later shit..'  
'I haven't seen it.'  
'Yes you have, we rented it out. That one with the guy in the hospital?'  
'Don't remember.' He groaned.

The small town they had approached was strange in the fact it looked almost normal, like if was unaffected by the outbreak. There weren't people walking the streets and the roads weren't filled with cars, but other than that you could almost pretend the world was okay.  
'I just need to stop and fill the car up.' He yawned as a gas station came over the horizon.  
'How far have we got to go?'  
'To the airport? About another hour I'm guessing.'  
They pulled up at the vacant gas station and he got out of the car.  
Hannah put the window down and looked out. A woman in one of the opposite houses was staring from a room upstairs. It must be strange to see new people acting so casually.  
'These gas prices are ridiculous!' He mocked disgust at the price displayed on the meter and started laughing. 'Shame they're not getting any of my money!'  
'You're a criminal now.'  
'I'm only a criminal when I drive off, actually!'  
He winked at her and looked over at the adjoining store.  
'Let's go shopping.'  
'You don't have to tell me twice!'

They stood just inside the store. The lights were out and it was a mess, it wouldn't be surprising if the residents of the town weren't the only people who tried to take all the food they could for free.  
Hannah screamed, breaking the eerie silence.  
'What was that for?!' He asked.  
She put her hand up. 'Wait.'  
Nothing happened.  
'Just checking for zombies..' She smiled and skipped off down one of the aisles pushing a shopping cart.

'There's a bathroom out back with a shower and everything.' He was waiting by one of the cash registers, and pointed at the door behind it. 'And the water works.'  
Hannah came round the corner and stared at him.  
'That's where you were! What happened to your t-shirt?' She asked, noticing he just standing in his jeans.  
'I dropped it.' He held it up. It was soaked.  
'Of course you did. Can you stay by the door whilst I go?'  
'I'll be right here.' He grinned and jumped onto the counter, grabbing a magazine that was on display. 'Well go on then..'  
She hit him in the arm as she went behind the counter and into the bathroom.  
The grin faded from his face almost immediately and he leant against the window.  
He had a bad feeling about almost everything.  
A few weeks ago he was able to see some sort of future for them but ever since he got back in the car it was as though after they got to the airport, there was nothing. No matter how much he thought about it he just couldn't see past there. It was just black.  
It was killing him inside and he wanted more than anything for some crazy dream to come into his brain so he could follow it aimlessly but nothing was happening.  
He wanted to tell her that he was pretty damn scared too, that he didn't want to die just yet and at this very moment he thought these might be his last days, but he couldn't.  
Telling her would be admitting that he might not be able to keep her safe and he promised her he would so he made the decision to keep pretending and keep lying to her so at least if she was going to die she didn't have to have the same overwhelming feeling of dread in her stomach that he did.

'I don't see why we need three boxes of Cheetos.'  
'Because I like them and they don't expire for ages!'  
'Okay fine just let me hold your shirt because you're getting the bottom one all damp.' Hannah snatched the t shirt from his arms and started walking towards the car until she noticed a woman standing by it.  
She was holding the hand of a small child who couldn't have been much older than three. Hannah recognised the woman as the one who was staring at them from the house.  
'Great, just what we need, another crazy person.' He opened the back of the car and threw in the boxes, making every attempt to ignore the lady.  
'You're going to die.' She started walking over to him, dragging the child behind.  
'Thanks for that..' He muttered as he shut the door.  
'I know where you're going. The airport? You're wasting your time. If there are any flights still going you won't get on them for all the money in the world.'  
'Well it's better to try than rot here!' Hannah spat, disliking her instantly. The chances were she was speaking the truth and she herself didn't think it was likely that they would get anywhere, but it wasn't nice to have a dream, no matter how farfetched, taken away from you.  
'You think I'm lying?' She asked. 'You think I want to stay here? We tried, three weeks ago, couldn't even get near the place. The army control the flights you see and it's first come first serve unless you have something to offer them. People were getting angry, fighting with each other, holding up stacks of money. We turned back. What's the point? There are no guarantees the other countries are safer, you just hope they are. What if they're worse?'  
'What if they're better?'  
'Maybe now they are, but most are infected and it will only spread, and then it will be like here, and then get worse.'  
'And you know that for sure do you?'  
'No, I don't, but based on what's happened everywhere else, you'd be wiser to stay, have a few more days.'  
'I'm sixteen, and this guy is mentally about twelve-'  
'Hey!' He shouted from the car, where he had now started the engine.  
'Being 'wise' is the last thing we care about.'  
She stomped around to the passenger's side and got in, slamming the door behind her.  
'Excuse me. Still my car.'  
'Just go.'  
They left the gas station without a second glance back at the woman and her child, who, within a few minutes were a little more than dead no thanks to the three zombies that had came down the street after the car had turned the corner.

'You think we're there yet?' Hannah half laughed as they came to a stop in a long line of traffic. Most of the cars were empty, or the ones that weren't had occupants considering abandonment. There were several army helicopters hovering low around an area ahead, the airport. Each of them had on there spotlights, illuminating different parts and some were barking orders through large speakers.  
'Let's go then..' He tried his best to smile, to pretend he wasn't dreading this.  
'Put your t-shirt back on first, they won't let you on like that. It's kind of dry now.' She chucked it at him as she leant over to the back, getting her bag and a few packs of Cheetos that she liked to think would make a pleasent in-flight snack if they got that far and of course, if there was a plane. 'They're a bit loud, them helicopters, aren't they?'  
'It's because they're shooting at something. One of them is anyway.'  
Hannah turned round to look out the front, and he was right. The largest helicopter had a handful of men crouching by the large open door, all of them with guns. Her face went white when she realised there might well be a horde of the undead blocking their maybe exit.  
'A-Are you scared?' She glanced over at her friend who was now dressed in the damp t-shirt and was putting his hoodie back on.  
'No.' It turned out that it was actually the truth. Whist concerntrating on the helicopters his gaze has moved over to the tip of a plane, most of it hidden behind trees, but it was all he needed. All of a sudden, whilst the blackness and uncertainty was still in his mind, it was joined by a sense of beloniging, like he was meant to be there at that very moment, like that airport was welcoming him home.  
'You see that?' He pointed in the direction of the 747 and wrapped his arm around her. 'We'll be okay Hannah, I've got a good feeling.


	6. Chapter 6

I think i'm dying?

I've been watching blood leave my body for.. a while now. It's amazing how much of it I seemed to have had, now it's pooling on the ground, ruining my jeans. Shame. I liked that pair.  
Part of me wants that zombie thing to come back and finish me off. It's frustrating sitting here, being unable to do anything. I tried to get up earlier but my limbs didn't seem to cooperate.

Why did they leave me..

All I can physically do is blink and even then it's not long enough to block out the the sight of the people who might actually be unluckier than I am. Honestly, when I left..  
This morning..  
I wasn't expecting to see someones insides being ripped out.  
What's the appeal?  
I feel sorry for them. They have to be in more pain than I am, well, all the screaming seems to suggest so.  
I've always had quite a high pain threshold but i'm still surprised that no part of me really hurts. Sure, the massive hole in my arm stings, but it's bareable.

I hope I die soon or something. This is tiring.

That's right. Dying is tiring. I just.. it feels like I have't slept in weeks. Every part of me just wants to shut down.

I hope..  
That girl I..  
Her name?  
..shit.  
Ha..?  
I hope she got away from here.

I swear even my brain is shutting down.

I..

I just want to sleep. The fact I might not wake up isn't even scary.  
I just..

-

All the crying has made my head hurt.  
I think I've actually ran out of tears. Until today I didn't know if that was possible.

I want to die right here, right now; but I can't.  
He'll come and find me.  
He has too.

I'll stay alive until he finds me.

He has to come back.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N; Uploaded three chapters in one shot!  
Please allow me some time now to write the next few, and I hope you enjoy.

_Five Years Later_

Perry sat at the table watching his roommate who was curled up on the sofa bed.  
'I'm going out to see Julie in a minute, they re letting her out this afternoon.'  
'Okay. Still don t see why she s in there though.'  
'Just to make sure she's okay, which she is.' He smiled, more than happy now that his girlfriend was back and safe.  
'Okay.'  
'Will you be alright?'  
'Yup.' He walked across the room and crouched down, staring them in the eyes. The glass of water on the side table was empty but that still left him in doubt.  
'Have you taken them today?'  
'Yup.'  
Chances were they were lying but he couldn t keep looking after someone who was actually capable of doing it themselves.  
'Just don't stay in bed all day? Go out and get some sun- fresh air.' He changed the last bit upon noticing the rain hitting the window.  
'I don't want to go out there when they're letting things like that in unless I'm allowed to shoot.' They said, referring to the strange zombie/human who had apparently came back with Julie a few days ago.  
He laughed, opening the drawer in the table and taking out a small gun. They were one of the only people who weren't military who was allowed to have a gun on them, but who was probably the most dangerous.  
'He's not that bad and you're not going to shoot anyone if I ve got this!' He waved it around and put it in his jacket pocket. Be good Hannah..  
'Fuck you.' She muttered, throwing the covers over her head.  
'I heard that!' He yelled, as he left out the front door.

Hannah was grateful that Perry looked out for her but more often than not she found it frustrating. It seemed to her that everyone thought she couldn t look after herself; it was only recently she was allowed to be left by alone.  
She had only been in the city for about a year, and she had been dragged kicking and screaming into it. No part of her wanted to be around people, in fact she had tried to kill Perry when one of the groups found her, but for some strange reason he didn t take the attitude that most of the residents did. He saw some kind of potential in her and spent endless days and nights without sleep making sure she wouldn t kill herself or anyone else.  
This was much to the annoyance of his long term girlfriend, Julie. She admired his caring side but saw no good in Hannah and questioned on several occasions why they didn't just leave her in the wastelands to rot.  
The only other people who saw a spark were the group of army generals, the ones who kept the city safe, who were fascinated by the fact she had lived alone out there for years and managed to survive. After a few months of her arriving and creating havoc over the fact she had no weapons, they took her aside, gave her a gun and instructions to be on their side. Hannah had a very obvious hatred for the zombies which they used to their full advantage, taking her out on supply runs and training them.  
For a frail looking girl, she ripped them to shreds without hesitation.  
An average day for Hannah, when not required by anyone consisted of sleeping and more sleeping. She rarely left the small apartment. There was little point in her eyes to go out into the city and pretend like everything was okay, because she had spent more time in the real world than most of them and knew it was far from pleasant.  
Most of the city was based around functionality with almost everything having a purpose.  
There were recreational areas, a park for kids, a swimming pool, a few bars but nothing of interest to her.  
They new way of life that had been created was alien to her and she didn t care much for adapting to it.  
Everything was different, even things like money were useless, with everything in the city, including food and water strictly rationed and given for free. Apart from electricity, that was only reserved for use by the army and clinic.  
She saw no point in carrying on when the creatures on the outside would eventually ruin the false utopia the stupid people had created. It was ridiculous to even refer to it as a city, when there were only about three thousand living there, but when that s all of the population that s left..  
How could they all wake up in the morning and see a point in their lives?

Hannah got up and shuffled over to the kitchen, if you could call it that, and opened one of the drawers.  
I hate you Perry, I really do. All it contained was spoons and a little piece of paper with a happy face drawn on it. Good intentions or not, she wasn't in the mood.  
She went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the small mirror above the sink.  
Her once short hair was now past her shoulders, and a complete mess. Julie had offered to cut it on several occasions but had given up trying.  
_No wonder people think you're crazy.  
_She must have looked like a mental patient to everyone else. There were constant dark circles under her eyes, her skin had a strange pasty complexion, she was incredibly thin and on the back her right arm was carved a single word.  
Die.

It was the afternoon, she was hungry and they were due more food so throwing on a jumper and some trainers, but still wearing pyjama pants Hannah left the apartment for the first time in about five days.  
There were several apartment blocks in the city, most of them occupied. They were each different, all decorated by their previous, probably dead owners.  
She walked down the three flights of stairs and out the door, into the rain.  
There hadn t been any supply trips out for about a month because of the weather so it was unlikely there would be much at the food store apart from soup and pasta, the seemingly staple diet.  
Hardly anyone was out; they were all probably in one of the bars. That was the most popular social activity.  
It only took a few minutes to walk to the store, to get from one end of the city to the other it was under ten minutes.  
The store was a strange place. You would go through the doors and be greeted by several large desks that prevented you from actually getting any supplies. Instead you would show your card and they would go and get what you were entitled to, which from time to time also included things like new clothes.  
'Oh great, it's you.' Hannah said as she approached a stern looking blonde girl behind the desk.  
'Nice to see you've made an effort.' She replied, looking down at her pyjama pants.  
'Food.'  
'Card?' The girl smirked.  
'Look, you know who I am and you know who I live with, why can t you just get me some?'  
'You know you should have your card. It's the rules.'  
'Fine'! Hannah hissed. She walked out of the store and went in the direction of the clinic to go and find Perry and eventually, something for lunch.  
She tried to avoid the clinic as much as possible considering the fact that she had spent her first few months at the city confined to it, drugged up to keep her quiet.  
Its main purpose was to check any new arrivals and make sure they weren't carrying anything, but it functioned as a small hospital too as much as it could without most of the proper equipment.  
One of the guards at the clinic entrance nodded at her and moved to the side letting her in.  
'Thanks.' She muttered.  
She walked through the empty reception and up to the desk. Leaning over she realised no one was occupying it so stretched out to try and grab one of the record books.  
'Can I help you?' It was Nora, who was a nurse and also one of Julie s friends. Hannah had only ever seen her out of work a handful of times.  
'Yeah where's Julies room?'  
'You're here to see her?'  
'No, I need Perry.'  
'Of course you do..' Nora laughed.' Wait here, I'll go and get him.'  
'Can't I jus-'  
'No. Stay here.' She waited for her to sit down before going through the double doors to find Perry.  
Hannah sat down on one of the seats and picked up a magazine, they were all so outdated, there wasn t even a mention of zombies in any of them.  
Perry had almost hated zombies as much as she did. A few months earlier Julie had gone on a supply trip with a small group and only one of them came back, saying that everyone including her was dead. Perry was heartbroken and Hannah had watched her friends life be torn apart. It was hard for her to be sympathetic so she was glad when he told her that Julie had come back and was fine, minus one fact. The thing that came with her..  
'What do yo- Why aren t you dressed properly? You're all wet.'  
'It's raining.' Hannah shrugged, still preoccupied by the pre-apocalypse magazine.  
'Whatever, at least you're out. What did you want?'  
'I need your card, I m hungry.'  
'Okay, hang on.' He turned around and looked down the corridor; it wasn t visible from where she was sitting. He was talking to someone but Hannah had once again zoned out, this time on an article about getting a beach ready body.  
A few minutes later, Perry still holding the door open whistled to get Hannah s attention.  
She put down the magazine and started walking towards him when she stopped dead and stared at the person who had joined him.  
Perry was unsure if this was a good idea. The last time he had seen her be in range of anything that looked like a zombie, it ended up pretty nasty, but he didn t want her being angry forever.  
'Uhm.. Hannah, this is R.'


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N; I'm glad you all enjoyed the last few chapters and hope you like this one too!  
Just so you know, R is like 65% zombie and 35% human right now (I seriously just had to use the calculator to check they made 100..) You'll find out the rest later!_

It was a strange atmosphere when Hannah met R, and one that Perry wasn't expecting.  
Normally, even a mention of zombies would set her off, she would become an almost unstoppable force, and the more he thoughts about it, the situation could have ended very badly, but it didn't.  
They just stared at each other for atleast five minutes, not saying or doing anything, and then, when Hannah looked like she was about to burst into tears, she turned round and half ran out of the clinic. R just looked confused and went back to be with Julie, Perry following, trying to make some sense of the situation.  
The rest of the afternoon was spent getting Julie checked out and back home, where he would have liked to have stayed, however her father had different ideas. He went to the store that evening to get the food Hannah had probably forgotten about and walked back to the apartment just as it got dark.  
Whilst his attention should have been fully on his girlfriend, a part of him couldn't stop worrying about his roommate and her out of character reaction. He was as much a carer to the girl as a friend.  
He opened the door to their apartment to be greeted by almost complete darkness, she hadn't even been bothered to put some of the lamps on. Sighing he put the food on the table and walked over to the sofabed where she was curled up asleep, occasionally muttering a few words. It was frustrating to see someone waste their life like she did but regardless, he would do everything he could to keep her with him. He lifted up the covers that had been thrown on the floor and draped them over her, it got incredibly cold sometimes. Just as he was walking back over to the kitchen, something fell onto the floor.  
He picked up up and turned it over. It was a photograph of a small group of friends in Times Square. You could tell the outbreak had started by the notices on some of the large screens behind them, but what really caught his attention was the two at the end, looking alot different to how they did now.  
Hannah and R.

Beep.  
Beep.  
Beep.  
Hannah put the pillow over her head.  
Beep.  
Beep.  
Beep.  
She reached over to the side table and hit a button on the pager to shut it off.  
Beep.  
'Fine!' She screamed.  
Perry stood at his bedroom door, rubbing his eyes.  
'Bit early for them to call isn't it?'  
'It better be important.'  
She went into the bathroom to change and Perry went back to bed.  
Everyone in the city had a job. Some would help in the stores, or with growing crops, looking after the few animals that were left, teaching the children that there used to be a world worth saving.  
Not everyone was picked to fight. Initally, that's what they thought would work, but it wasn't. The best armies were made up of people that wanted to be there, were built for the job. Sadly for Hannah, she was someone they wanted. About a quater of the city was populated by real army, the ones that had ranks when it still meant something, and the rest were people that wanted to fight and proved themselves to do it.  
It was only a moment of madness that got Hannah recognised. She wasn't really given a choice but to join them.  
Most of them, whilst they didn't like her, admired what she could do. She was an asset that they intended to use to their full advantage and had tried to find out what it was that made her tick but it never went well.

'Ah, Hannah, nice of you to join us!'  
'Sorry Sir.'  
She slipped into the line of thirty, mostly made up of security, but some weapons and combat like her. Sgt. Black was in charge of securing the city, keeping everyone safe, managing supply trips and keeping the strays reigned in. He was a man in his late fourties that liked to get things done. He took his job seriously and excpeted the same of everyone else and it frustrated him that Hannah didn't seem to care.  
'Good job I didn't start just yet.'  
They were standing outside the main gates, there were four in total throughout the city, by one of the small, previously abandoned office blocks. It was now the heart of the new world where everything that would happen was decided upon. Training took place in one of the empty hangers.  
Sgt. Black walked up and down the line, inspecting each person as he went. There were only five females in the army, Hannah being the only one in direct combat. The others were skilled mechanics and worked on making sure everything ran smoothly.  
Everyone was dressed in black, heavy black boots, trousers, tshirts and jackets. Camoflauge was reserved for the higher ranks. Everyone expect Hannah. She had kept the shirt, jacket and boots but swapped the trousers for a black skirt and some dark purple tights with cats on that she found in a store on a supply trip. They were ugly as sin and she hated them, but it was fun to see the dissaproval every time she wore them.  
'I called you here this morning as some of you may have heard different things about the situation a few days ago and I want everyone to have the same, correct facts.'  
'Just tell us if you've let a zombie in or not!' One of the guys at the end of the line stamped his foot, already knowing the answer and hating it.  
'The term zombie should not be used lightly, especially on this occasion. There is indeed someone on the premises that has had alot more.. experience.. with them than we have, however, he is currently under twenty-four hour surveillance and will continue to be closely monitored when given more freedom. We are running tests to see exactly what he is, and if we can use him in any way.'  
Everyone began shouting and talking amoungst themselves, none of them happy that the very people who told them to shoot anything without a pulse, were welcoming them in.  
'You're letting it out?!'  
'I've got a wife and kids, if anything happens to them, it's your head i'll be wantin'!'  
'You're either a zombie or you're not! No in-betweens.'  
'Just shoot it.' Hannahs quiet response silenced the crowd. They were all wondering what she would have had to say on the matter. She knew all to well this 'zombie' was him. 'R'.  
'Shooting him Hannah, would not help us progress.' Sgt. Black began pacing the line again.  
'Best to shoot now before it's too late.'  
'If that is your attitude, it better change, as you're going to be assigned to him when he's out.'  
'No.' Her reply was sharp. To the point. There was no need for shouting, it was loud and clear.  
'I want everyone at the hanger in twenty minutes sharp for drills! Hannah, stay here.'  
When everyone had gone he motioned for the girl to come over to him.  
'Now I understand you're.. passionate about erradication, but that is the exact reason we chose you. Any step out of line and he'll be dealt with.'  
'I don't want to. I refuse.'  
'You refuse?'  
'Get Julie to do it. She bought him here.'  
'It was suggested, but considering their friendship, if you could call it that, she may be unwilling to dispose of him if needed, and her father certainly had more than a few colourful words to say about it.'  
'Well then you'll have to find someone else. I'm not doing it.'  
'You have no choice in the matter.'  
'If I don't?'  
'You know what happens.' He looked apologetic as he watched all life drain from her face. 'Just do what you're told.'

'How you feeling R?' Nora walked into his room where he was laying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.  
He shrugged.  
'Well, I hope that's good. I just need to give you another injection if that's okay?'  
Shrug.  
'W-where's Julie?'  
'She went home, remember? I'm sure she'll come and see you soon, or, in a few days you can visit her?' Nora pulled the chair up next to his bed to sit down and placed a tray of various needles and small bottles on the side. 'I've got to admit, your blood is alot harder to test than we thought. It is interesting though!'  
'Inter-esting?'  
'Yeah! Of course we've been studying corpses but nothing like you!'  
Nod.  
'Does this not hurt atall?'  
He turned his head slightly to see a huge needle stuck in his arm.  
'No.'  
'Hmm. Are you looking forward to going outside?'  
'H.. Ha-Hannah? Where.. living?'  
She looked up at him confused for a moment until she remembered very briefly walking past the two having what seemed to be a staring match the day before.  
'She lives with Perry, why?'  
Shrug.  
He didn't have a clue why he wanted to know that, it was just something he said naturally, or as naturally as it could be for someone half dead. Normally he had to think about something in order to say it, but that, it just happened.  
It was like someone had put the words right into his mouth.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N; __ - There are other stories going with an OC but I haven't read them to know what they're like! Also, I've changed to quotations, apologies, I just didn't use them for speed. :)  
Yup, Hannah hates R, and she's a bit of an asshole.. but hey. All part of the fun! There will be a bit more action with those two in the next chapter, lol, action. I'm such a pervert._

"Let me in you stupid fu-"  
"Guess they told you the news!" She turned to see Matt, one of the guys in the combat group laughing at her. "Here"' He unlocked the door to the shooting range and held it open as she barged passed. "You're welcome."  
He hit the switch on the side and the lights came on. The shooting range was pretty basic with only one target set up due to the fact hardly anyone used it. In the beginning most people got enough practice shooting zombies.  
"They want me to keep tabs on that damn thing! Me! I'll shoot it."  
"Considering i'm the other person assigned to him, I can't let that happen."  
"Why is everyone so.. okay with this?! It's ridiculous!" She took her gun out of the holster around her waist and started shooting at the target infront of her. "I mean, we're meant to kill them, not welcome them into the city!"  
It didn't even take a minute for her to empty the gun of shots, each had been a perfect hit on the target, straight in the head. She screamed and kicked her boots against the floor. Her tantrums weren't unusual, she had a hard time getting her feelings out and as long as she didn't hurt anyone, people didn't tend to bat an eyelid.  
"Are you finished yet?" Matt asked.  
Sigh. "Yes."  
"Good, now sit down." He pointed to the row of chairs by the door but instead she slumped on the concrete ground. "I know you don't like the idea, I told them when they said your name that you wouldn't agree with it, but here's the thing. We need to figure them out, even if it's just how to kill them more efficiently or to stop them spreading, it has to be done. We can't keep disecting corpses and you know what happened the last time we tried testing a live one."  
"Bu-"  
"No buts. Why don't you prove to everyone that for once you can be mature about a situation? I can hardly say i'm comfortable with the concept of him walking around but if it's for the greater good, then i'll do it."  
"What greater good?! There is no greater good! This is it Matt, the best it will get!"  
"Says you."  
"Because I know what it's like out there!"  
"And others don't?! Do you think we're oblivious to what's going on when we're out on supply runs? We just go out, drive trucks, get what we need and spend the whole time with our eyes shut? We've seen it too, we've lived it as much as you have!"  
"No! No you haven't!"  
"You're not the only one that's been out there alone. Granted you're the only person i've met who spent the longest there but.. come on. Stop acting like a victim!"  
"Fuck you!" She spat.  
"Don't talk to me like that Hannah, i'm one of the only people round here that can still tolerate you!"  
"Fine, okay, whatever. I'll do it, but when it fucks up and he does something, i'm not going to clean it up, i'm not gonna take the blame. If someone gets killed, fine. You just better hope my self restraint is good enough."

Perry and Julie were laying on her bed, catching up finally without other people being around.  
"It was just so strange. Like he knew me, I mean, without him i'd be dead but I still don't understand what made him change."  
"It does't matter, right? He bought you back to me and that's the most important thing." He kissed her on the head and smiled. "I guess I owe him a drink!"  
"He doesn't drink, I don't think so anyway.. I asked him and he said he didn't need to."  
Perry thought for a moment, not knowing if he should say something. "Did you ever ask him anything else?"  
"Like what?"  
"If he remebered stuff from before?"  
"Yeah, a few times, if he knew when he died, any family, that sort of thing. He didn't remember."  
"What about friends?"  
"Friends? No. Why the sudden interest anyway?"  
"No reason."  
He wanted to tell her about the picture he found but couldn't. It felt like it was meant to be a secret, one that he was already struggling to keep.  
"You're strange sometimes." She laughed. "I really did miss you."

Hannah and Matt were sitting on a bench in one of the only open spaces kept for recreation. Most had been dug up to grow things but the small green was kept so people had somewhere to try and relax and forget things for a while.  
"It's your birthday soon, right?"  
"Yeah, in three days. My 21st."  
"Nearly catching up with me!' Matt grinned. 'I'll have to grab a bottle of something on the next supply run for you."  
"When is it?"  
"Next Wednesday, just for food and things, nothing major. We're going to try go a bit further out this time, there should be a bigger town."  
"And you're going?"  
"Yeah..ah.." He realised what Hannah just did. She would be the only one watching the newcomer.  
"That's it. I'm done with this place!" She tried to get up but Matt put a hand on her shoulder and sat her back down.  
"It will only be a few days if everything goes well, you'll be fine!"  
"No. I'm not being the only one with him!"  
"Hannah, we just finished this discussion."  
"How come i'm not going on the run anyway?! I'm always on them."  
"I don't know, it's not my job to plan the groups. I thought you of all people would appreciate a break."  
"No."  
He just shook his head. "You're a pain in the ass, did you know that?"  
"So are you."  
Matt was one of the first people Hannah met. He was in the same group as Perry and prised the screaming, knife weilding Hannah off of him. It was his task to train her up in combat when she came to the city but he quickly found out she needed very little guidance in the matter, he just made sure things didn't get too out of hand. They weren't exactly friends, but they had no problem being around each other.  
"I need to go now, theres a stock check at two and I can't be late, just.. try and chill out okay?"

R's attention had been on the fish tank in the clinic reception for some time. His face was pressed up against the glass, he was like a child, completley fascinated by it, although it had no occupants. He had been imagining all the different fish that had once been in there, all the different colours, all the people years ago that had been exactly where he was right now. It made him feel guilty that they were all probably dead now because of him and the others.  
"There you are! I was wondering where you went." Nora stood by the desk with a clipboard in her arms. "Are you expecting something to appear?" She laughed at the fascinated R. It was nice for her to see someone so amazed by the world. Whilst the people living in the city had a second chance at life, many still didn't appreciate it as much as they should and it meant alot to know there were still those out there that could find something to admire. "I have good news!"  
He was still looking in the tank.  
"R?"  
"Yeah.."  
"I have good news.."  
He got up and walked over to her.  
"The results from your tests were as good as they could be so you can go leave here tomorrow! We just need to get you somewhere to stay but I think one of the sign in groups are working on that."  
He nodded. "Okay."  
"There's two people that have assigned to make sure you don't get into any trouble and they'll be meeting you."  
"T-trouble?"  
"Well, as delightful as you are, the people in charge are still suspicious about.. your condition, shall we say."  
He could understand that. He was still just a zombie to everyone else, no matter if he could talk or control his appetite. When he arrived he only saw the city for a few moments before being dragged off by several guards and it made him happy to know that he would get to see something more than the walls of the clinic and spend time with Julie, even though they weren't together for long, it felt strange for him to be away from her.  
"Do you want something to eat?"  
He shook his head.  
"Are you sure? I'm just a little worried you might die.. more. Maybe try something later just to be on the safe side"  
"I'm..fine."  
Maybe that was a little lie.  
Since he became close with Julie he didn't want to hurt anyone but for the past few days it was getting harder to ignore the the hunger pangs. He was going to have to do his best to fight them if he wanted to stay alive.


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N; I do intend to update this regularly, for the few that mentioned it! Sometimes chapters will be up quicker than others, like this one, where I deicded it was crap half way through and re-wrote it.  
Tomorrow I'm watching the movie with my boyfriend, so it better be good!  
Thank you for the reviews/watches etc as always._

"Take the picture already will you? I'm freezing!"  
"Me too."  
"Okay hang on! Hannah, R- Oh my gosh i'm so sorry!"  
"Watch where you're going!" A more than disgruntled businessman pushed the girl out of the way as he walked past.  
"Come on you two!"  
"Yeah, Laurie's harassing the public!"  
"Calm down, we're here." Hannah walked over to her friends with a pretzel hanging out of her mouth. "Have you tried these? They're so good!"  
"It was mine.." A sulking teenager followed behind her with his hands in his pockets and his hood up.  
"Want it back?" Hannah spat out the chewed bit and held it infront of him.  
"No."  
"You better wipe that frown off your face, I don't want you ruining the picture!" Laurie walked over to her friends and went in the middle holding the camera out. "Right, Three, Two, One!' She took the picture and turned her camera over to look at it. It was mostly just her. "Uhm, my bad. Hang on!"  
She ran off to find someone to take another and left the group standing there.  
Hannah turned to face him. "What's wrong with you?"  
He shrugged. "Nothing."  
"Don't lie to me you've been miserable all morning."  
"I have not."  
"Then what's up?"  
"I just.. thought you and me could have hung out a bit more by ourselves."  
"That's it? You're my best friend! We've got forever to hang out together!"  
"I'm pretty sure once you won't always want me around."  
"I'm always going to want you around! Promise!"  
A small smile appeared on his face. "I'll make sure to remember that."

"You need to fill in these forms." A woman in the reception area of the main office pushed a small pile of paperwork in R's direction.  
"Can't."  
"Why not?"  
"Can't read.. much."  
"Well it's going to make things very difficult if you don't cooperate!" She spat.  
"Oh come on! Is this actually nessicsary?" Matt was getting aggitated with her. Even though it was under the generals orders to have R intergrated with everyone in the first place, it had been difficult enough to get him in the main building and past security. It was hot outside and in the building and he didn't want to spend any more time than he had too inside.  
"Yes, it is. It's rules. Everyone in the city must be registered."  
"Where's the general? This is his work we're doing anyway, can't we just get a temporary waiver?"  
"No. These must be filled out or he'll have to go into holding."  
"Can I fill them out then?"  
"You know his details?"  
"Not exactly.."  
"Oh get out the way!" Hannah stormed over to the desk and elbowed Matt out the way. Standing as far away from R as possible she began filling them out.  
"Excuse me, did you not just hear? You have to-"  
"I know them!  
She spent five minutes answering questions and ticking boxes. Matt tried to see what she was writing a few times, curious to see how well she could lie but he couldn't get near.  
"Here." She slammed the papers down on desk. "It's all correct, if you have a problem, sort it out with someone else."  
She spun around to look at Matt and R. "Let's go then."  
"Did you really know all that stuff abo-"  
"I said let's go!"

_"Hann?"  
She took a deep breath. "Yeah?"  
"They're gone."  
It wasn't a shock. She'd seen it on the news. They didn't give any names but they didn't need to. Everyone who was there was dead, or worse. She was glad they were on the phone. She didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes.  
"R-"  
"Don't. Please, don't say you're sorry, it makes no sense. You didn't do anything."  
"Well, what do I say?"  
"Nothing. I just.. I don't know." Neither of them spoke for a moment. "They wanted me to go with them. I should be dead."  
"But you're not."  
"Dad.. he said it would be better for us to be together and I just said no.. I just shrugged them off. They died hating me."  
"No, they wouldn't have hated you. You done what you thought was right."  
"How was it right?! What's the point anymore?! They're dead and now I'm alone!"  
"You're not alone! You've got me.."  
He went quiet.  
"Do I?"  
"What?"  
"Have you.?"  
She sat at the top of the stairs and looked down into the family room which was being filled with suitcases and boxes of the families posessions.  
He knew they were planning on relocating and even though she had mentioned a few times it might be to a safe camp similar to where his family had just lost their lives, deep down he knew it wouldn't be in the same country. She never had the heart to say it was Paris. That was too far. That would mean the end of them for certain. It wasn't much safer than where they currently were but her parents worked there often and wanted to wait it out in the place they felt most at home.  
Home.  
There was only one place Hannah had ever called that and it wasn't anywhere tucked up with blood relatives.  
"Yes." She nodded to herself. "You've got me. I'll be over tonight."  
They both hung up at the same time.  
She ran into her room grabbing one of the only empty bags she owned and threw in a few items that weren't already at his house.  
Her mind was made up.  
She didn't want to ever be without him._

"Home sweet home!" Matt chucked as he swung the door open to R's new apartment. "Most of what you need should be in there already, it's hardly modern but nothing is around here anyway."  
"Thanks." R smiled.  
"I need to go, got a few things to do but Hannah will help you get settled in."  
"Okay."  
"See you later!" He started walking down the stairs until Hannah stopped him.  
"You're leaving me?" She hissed.  
"Scared?"  
"Far from it."  
"Just be nice." He patted  
She flipped him off before following R into the apartment. It was the last thing she wanted to do but it was orders, and you didn't disobey.  
Hovering by the door, her hands firmly gripped on the gun, she watched as he wandered around , looking in cupboards, going in and out of the other two rooms, staring at every day objects like they were something new and incredible.  
It made her blood boil.  
He stopped and stood in the middle of the lounge, gaze firmly fixed on her.  
"What do you want?" She muttered.  
He shrugged. He didn't know the feeling or the words to say what exactly was going on in his head every time he saw her. It was different to Julie, that was new, but this.. it was something else. No one else he had met had this effect, so why her. Something about being around her made him feel a little more at ease, even with the gun that had a bullet with his name on it.  
Or did it?  
Maybe it was just another part of the change. How was he to know.  
_  
It had been three months since she'd left her family to be with him and the world had gone downhill quicker than anyone expected. The town around them changed almost beyond recognition and people became prisoners in their own houses, afraid of everything outside.  
"Do you think Dominoes is still open? I'm hungry."  
He laughed. "I doubt it, but you can try." He pushed his phone off the edge of the bed onto the floor where Hannah was sprawled out. It rarely worked now, the phone system was more than temperamental.  
"You actually have it on speed-dial?"  
"With you around, I need it."  
She let it ring for several minutes before admitting defeat. "This is how I die. Starved."  
"Hardly." He rolled off the bed and onto Hannah. "If you're going to die, it's going to be at the hands of some flesh starved zombie."  
"Hey! You make it sound like I can't defend myself!" She shoved him so he was laying next to her.  
"Of course you can. I've already planned the whole thing out. You go crazy and become some kind of epic zombie killing machine but at the final moment, I eat your brains. It's unexpected so causes your death but up until that point you were defending yourself pretty well."  
"Why are you a zombie?"  
"Why not, it's my imagination."  
The two lay side by side thinking about that for some time.  
"You don't want to be one of them in real life though, do you?" It was only audible because the house was so quiet but he could detect the curiousness in her voice.  
"No."  
"Good. Make sure it doesn't happen."  
"I won't ever be a zombie Hann. I won't leave you."  
"If you were.. i'd kill you."  
"Wouldn't have it any other way!" He put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. "You've got my permission to shoot me!_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N; So the movie wasn't too bad. It was fairly faithful, obviously they made changes to make it appeal to more people but I didn't come away feeling like it ruined the book or anything. Plus he's like one of the only people I find attractive in the world.  
I know it's alot about Hannah but i'm upping the zombie boy very soon. The next chapter infact as i'm writing it right now._

"Nice pad, R!" Julie fell back onto one of the armchairs and looked around.  
"Not bad atall." Perry agreed.  
"T-thanks." R smiled and tried to look cool by leaning on the kitchen counter but it wasn't working.  
"So when's the house warming?" Julie asked.  
"The what?"  
"House warming? You know, people, music, beers, good times?"  
"Where get..beer?"  
"You tell me, I haven't had one in almost a year."  
Perry shook his head. "There's more important things than alcohol."  
"Are you being serious? Did you get boring whilst I was away?"  
"No, I just thi-"  
R blocked off his bickering friends at this point and just looked at everything around him. This was life now. Having a real place to live, somewhere to call your own, it probably wasn't as much of a big deal to everyone else as it was to him. Zombies didn't need a home because they didn't live. Homes were for humans and the fact that he had one now, yes, he was deffinatley changing and he was excited, the best part was alot of other people seemed to be excited for him too. He thought that coming to the city would be difficult, that there would be more resistance to a corpse amoungst the living but there wasn't. It didn't make him feel as comfortable as it should have, it felt like they were hiding something. Atleast Hannah made it clear she disliked him. He didn't blame her. It was frustrating though, she wouldn't stay around him long or get close enough for him to figure out what it was about her that made him feel naturally comfortable. Maybe feeling comfortable around someone who threatend to shoot you if you left the apartment alone wasn't the smartest thing in the world but he just wanted to figure it out.  
"Shurgger!" Julie shouted and waved her hand infront of R's face. "Are you still on this planet?"  
"Uh.. think so."  
"I need to go." She held up her pager. "Dad wants me but i'll see you tomorrow or something!"  
They hugged briefly and R couldn't avoid Perrys stare. He didn't have to say anything, it meant 'She's mine, corpse.'  
"You be good now!"  
"Bye R." Perry half waved as they left.  
"Bye."  
He shuffled over to the window and waited to watch them leave out the main enterance. They did, and they were holding hands. That kind of hurt.

Hannah was sitting on the window ledge watching the sunset behind the park. A few of the kids were playing on the swingset and laughing, not having a care in the world because they had each other and that was all that mattered. Friendship meant nothing despite what they were taught.  
She grunted a hello as Perry walked in.  
"Do you want noodles now or later?" He asked as her was looking in the kitchen cupboards.  
"Whatever."  
"Is that your catchphrase?"  
"Would you miss me Perry?"  
"Huh?"  
"If I wasn't here, would you miss me?"  
He glanced over at her again noticing what he missed when he walked in. She had her gun at the side of her head.  
"Hannah, put it down."  
"Would you miss me?"  
"Put it down."  
"Would yo-"  
"Of course I would!"  
"Liar! You have Julie. She fills all the voids."  
"Hannah, have you taken your meds today?"  
"No Perry, I have not taken them today and do you want to know why? They drive me fucking crazy! All that crap about them calming me down, making me happy?! It's bullshit! They just keep everything in a little tiny box in my head and it just pecks away at my brain. Peck peck peck all the time. Peck peck peck. Well I'm sick of the fucking pecking! Who would miss me?! What's the point?! This is my life now. Madness and watching the world waste away!" She hit her head on the wall.  
"Come on, not this again. You were doing well!"  
"According to who?! The nurses? They don't understand Perry, no one understands. I'm nothing to noone. I have no one. I'm just trash. Even the zombies didn't want me!"  
"Can you put the gun down? We'll just talk." Perry tried his best to act calm. It wasn't the first time this had happened but he thought she was past this stage, getting better.  
"I don't want to talk! Maybe I did before but I don't anymore. This place..it's..it's ridiculous! You all think I'm crazy? You're the crazy ones! You let him in!" She banged her fists on the window and one of the panes shattered. "You let him in and it's not okay!"  
_That was it?_  
"Calm down Hann, jeez!"  
"Don't tell me to calm down Perry cause i'll shoot you right before I shoot him! You'll all get what you deserve!"  
_Come on Perry! Man up..  
_"Why would you want to shoot him?! You were friends!"  
All the rage left Hannahs face for a moment and she went blank.  
"It's okay, I-I found that picture of you two. I kno-"  
"NO!" If the window hadn't just been broken, her scream would have done the job. "You don't fucking know! You don't know anything about me and you sure as fuck don't know anything about him!"  
_Yeah that didn't go well..  
_"That.. thing, he's-he's not my friend!"  
It took a long time after that to calm her down. Perry couldn't get any more out of her and eventually she became one with the floor and cried hysterically until she passed out.

_A small crowd surrounded the car. They were all clawing at it, hitting the glass, groaning, wanting her.  
She had been undisturbed for several hours but as they finished the fresh meat at the airport they realised they wanted more and followed her scent.  
One of her hands was gripped firmly on the wheel, the other, hovering over the key.  
She wanted to turn it but she couldn't. Not yet.  
There would never be a right time.  
She wanted to wait a bit longer, hope a little harder, do anything but leave.  
"Please come back.. please.."  
One of the larger zombies began pounding the passenger window with more force than the others. She was meals on wheels and these guys were hungry.  
"Please.." She sobbed. "Don't be de-.. please come back."  
The glass shattered and an arm came through, almost grabbing her.  
Instinct kicked in and she started the car, spinning it round and knocking several zombies out in the process, and hitting an empty car on the left.  
"Shit!" She hissed. She couldn't get the car to start up again and the window smasher was coming up behind. "Oh shit oh shit.. work! Work you stupid machine!"  
"Well it's not going to if you talk to it like that!" He opened the door and shoved her over into the passenger seat.  
He turned the key and the engine spluttered, but started.  
"See!" He winked. "You've just got to be nice."_

"Morning." Perry was standing over Hannah with a glass of water and a small box.  
"Huh?" She rubbed her eyes and tried to remember what she was doing on the floor.  
"You were having that dream again, weren't you?"  
The only words he ever heard her say were 'please come back' and he always thought she was refering to family, but after last night he knew it was R.  
"I wasn't dreaming anything." She sat up and stretched.  
Perry handed her the glass. "Drink this, and take these." He chucked the box at her.  
Hannah shook her head.  
"Just one, that's all i'm asking and then we'll go to the clinic and see if there's something better for you."  
"I don't want them anymore. I appreciate you trying to help, but stop." She downed the water and stood up, glancing over at the window she noticed part of it was boarded up. "I'm sorry."  
"It's fine."  
She kissed him on the cheek. "You're too good to me. Julie's lucky to have you."


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N; Almost got the plan for the whole story wrote down, hoorah. It's gonna be goooood.  
I promise one day R and Hannah will be friends.  
Kudos to _ _who seems to be reviewing alot, thank you!_  
_Please let me know if you're enjoying this story too, or maybe leave constructive crit? (Don't be a mean asshole though, no one likes that).__  
Up the zombie boy._

Hannah was waiting outside R's apartment, stamping her foot. She was impatient at the best of times let alone wating for him.  
He opened the door, still dressed in the same clothes as the day before. He didn't have a chance to speak before she held her gun up.  
"Grigio wants to see you."  
"Julies dad?"  
"That's the one, now move it." She shifted it to the side. "Come on."  
"Okay." He shut the door. "Y-ou can put it.. down I'm not.. g-oing to hurt you."  
"Like hell am I doing that."  
"Why are you.. so scared?"  
She laughed. "You think I'm scared? Of you?! Trust me, I could break your neck in a second. Now go, I don't want you making me look bad."  
"Fine." He started walking down the stairs infront of her. "So, you're not scared."  
"No."  
"T-then what?"  
"Huh?"  
"Why the.. gun? No one else is.. like that."  
"Because you eat people. You're a corpse, and everyone else is stupid."  
He stopped and Hannah walked into the back of him. She forgot how tall he was.  
R turned round and looked at her.  
"I'm not like them."  
She held the gun up to his head.  
If she thought being forgotten about was painful, pushing him away was even worse but she had to.  
R looked similar, but that was all. It was't him. He was dead and this was the proof.  
"Keep walking."

"I apologise again for the lateness sir." Hannah looked down at her boots as Grigio finished giving her another lecture on the importance of time keeping.  
"Good, now if you don't mind, I would like to speak to R in private."  
"Of course." She nodded. "I'll wait for you outside."  
He walked over to his desk and sat opposite R. He rarely spent time in his office, keeping the city going was a mostly practicle job but some things, such as this, he needed space.  
"So, R, how are you adjusting?"  
"Fine, thanks."  
"Good, any problems with Matt and Hannah?"  
"Not really."  
"You're not much of a talker, are you?"  
"Some..times."  
"Hmmm, well I like someone who listens." He produced a clipboard from one of the drawers in the desk. "I've been looking through the notes from the clinic. You still have some, shall we say.. less desireable traits, but on the whole you seem to be in good health, we can use you."  
"Use me?"  
"Yes. You see, everyone here has a place, a job, no matter how small their role, they have to do something. We cannot expect to expand alone. Normally we would let people deicide on the job they will embark on but in certain cases, like yours, we will chose for you."  
"And what w..would you have chosen?"  
"Well, providing your training session goes well, you will be a part of the combat team. You will be sent out on longer supply trips to new locations and you will be first on scene to any incidents involving your friends."  
"Friends?"  
"The corpses."  
"Oh." He shuffled uncomfortably at the thought of everyone thinking he was still one of them. Surely he didn't look that bad. "What if some -of them.. change like me?"  
"What do you mean?"  
"They might be m-more human, why k..kill them?"  
"You are an expection, and even then we have our doubts. There will not be others changing, you shoot anything that looks dead even if you think it has a soul, or we will shoot you."  
There was certainty in his voice. They knew R wanted a chance at life and now he had to do what he was told or else it would be taken away.  
"Moving on from that, Miss Tyler out there will be putting you and another member of our community through your paces before you officially join, so are you up to it?"  
"Yes Sir." Like he had a choice.  
"Excellent, off you go then." Just as R stood up Grigio coughed. "One more thing, R."  
"Yes?"  
"I appreciate that you saved my daughter but don't get too friendly with her."  
He nodded. "Uhm..okay."  
R walked out of the room and was greeted by a frustrated looking Hannah and a teenage boy with red hair who must have been about seventeen.  
"James, this is R, R, this is James, stay the hell away from him or i'll blow your brains out."  
"Uhm.. hi."  
"Hey." James replied. He was trying to act cool but was obviously nervous around him.  
"Good, now that's over with.."

There was surprisingly very little between the city and the outside world. Most of it was purely surrounded by an electric fence, very little use if anything did try and get in, and the occasional bit of broken brick wall. The gates themselves, whilst they were protected, were just large metal ones with locks. For a city that wanted to have a part in rebuilding humanity they had a few safety issues.  
They were at the very edge of the city. Most of the buildings around them were empty and their sole use was as lookout posts that were on the roofs. R noted that no one was manning them.  
Hannah took a bunch of keys out of her pocket as she approached the gate.  
She turned to the two guys who were clutching small rifles.  
"Chances are there's nothing but just keep an eye out. You know how to shoot one James?"  
"Yeah." He nooded.  
"And you?" She glanced at R who shook his head. He was surprised that he hadn't picked up any firearms tips from all the people that had tried to shoot him over the years. "Okay well that doesn't matter. If a zombie runs at you, maybe you can hug and catch up or something?"  
James laughed but soon stopped when R shot him a look.  
"Follow me then." She unlocked the gate and let them out first. "We're going over there." Pointing at the woods in the distance she slammed the gate shut, not bothering to lock it incase they needed to get back quickly.

"So what's the point of this exactly?" They had only been walking for a few minutes but James was already bored.  
"Nothing, I just thought we could sit and bond in nature."  
"You are joking right?"  
"Yes. Keep up deadbeat!" She shouted at R who was behind them. Hannah was a fast walker and he could easily catch up but he didn't have the energy.  
"Then where are we going?"  
They went a little further into the woods and very quickly heard the familar groans of the undead.  
"Holding pen."  
In one of the clearings was essentially, a large cage. It was devided into seven sections but only four contained a flesh starved zombie. They were clearly agitated. It had alot to do with the large chunk of rotting meat (that looked and smelt suspiciously human to R) suspended above them but out of their reach, and the arrival of two deffinate humans made them almost crazy.  
"Holy shit.." James muttered.  
"Right then, here's the deal. You need to kill these fuckers with as few shots as possible, and considering you only have six bullets you better make sure you do or else you're going to be hanging up there." She pointed to the meat.  
"That's not a real person right?" James half laughed and shuffled his feet.  
"If it will make you feel better, no it isn't. Anyway, you can have one practice shot against the tree over there with the giant marker if you want but considering it isn't running at you with murder in it's eyes, there's not much point."  
"Hang on, running at us?"  
"Yeah, I'll let one out."  
"Are you crazy?"  
"Perhaps, but I won't eat you."  
"How come we only have six bullets?!"  
"Because you need to be efficient and if you have alot, then you won't be. Ready James? You're up first! Maybe get some point of view zombie tips from R whilst you can."  
R moved well out the way of the cage as Hannah went up to it, not liking what was going to happen.  
"Wait, what if I run out of bullets? You'll kill it, right?"  
"Not unless it's running at me!" She laughed as she ducked out the way of test zombie number ones arm as it came through the bars. It took her a moment to unlock it properly.  
"Why won't it run at you first?"  
"Because I'm not bleeding." She grinned and shot James in the leg just as she opened the cage.  
The expression 'All Hell broke loose' never suited a situation so well.  
The shock of being shot quickly left James' system as the short but very quick zombie came towards him.  
"Shoot then!" Hannah shouted.  
Shoot he did, an arm, shoulder, kneecap, the tree, the other shoulder, it was almost on him when it dropped to the floor with a perfect shot right through the side of its head.  
James was shaking and had tears in his eyes.  
She looked over knowing he wasn't the one that shot it.  
R stood by one of the trees, gun still raised. He looked a little confused, infact he was confused as to what he just did.  
Hannah went up to the corpse and kicked it over. She knealt down and looked at the bullet hole.  
"James, you're out. Go back to the city."  
He wasn't really in the state to go anywhere alone but he ran, surprisingly well for someone who had just been shot, straight out the woods as soon as she said that, not wanting to be around anything that resembled a zombie.  
"Not bad R." She muttered. "Not bad atall."


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N; I wish it hadn't taken so long to update, sorry everyone! Blame depression and life in general, but hey, I hope the long chapter makes up for it. (I've changed the rating also.)  
There are some interesting plans I have for the future involving R and Hannah, especially R. He seems too nice, don't you think? I might have some fun with roughing him up a bit. Pleaseletmehaveadreamaboutthat..  
Thanks for the favourites and watches, don't forget to review~_

_He was sitting on the edge of a bed in what was his old room, though he wasn't sure how he knew that. The walls were covered in hundreds of photographs but he couldn't focus on any of them. The long he stared the blurrier they became. It must have been a while he was sitting there because the sky had changed outside and it was now sunset.  
The door on his left opened and Hannah was standing in the doorframe in her combat gear, nothing but white light behind her.  
"Well?"  
"Well what?"  
"Are you coming or sitting there all day?"  
He shook his head and stood up, she moved aside to let him through.  
They were stood in the middle of a road, derelict houses on either side and a large city in the distance complete with smoking buildings.  
A man ran past them, panting, out of breath. The thing they were running from caught up and got him on the floor, bashed his head in.  
"This is your fault." Hannah turned to face R. "You and your kind did this to us."  
R just looked apologetic, not really knowing how to respond.  
"What's your favourite part?" She asked just as a chunk of the mans flesh flew by. "I mean, there's got to be like, a prime cut."  
"Well.."  
"That's an awful question! You don't have to answer that R!" Julie appeared out of nowhere threw her arms around him and shot a look at Hannah.  
"Do you like Julie, R?"  
"Of course." He nodded and put an arm over her shoulder.  
Hannahs expression changed a she looked dissapointed. "Do you like her more than me?"_

The street dissolved and they were on an island covered in white sand and surrounded blue clear blue water.  
Judging by the board set up on a large rock, they had been playing monopoly for some time now, or trying too.  
"Are you sure you remember how to play?" Hannah asked. Her outfit had changed, she was now in a light blue sweater and white shorts. Her hair was different too, much shorter and stopping just above her shoulders and her face had changed, she seemed more alive. He wished he did, he glanced down at his hands and they were still a fetching shade of death.  
He nodded. "Yes, I do."  
"Well as long as you remember something.." She threw the dice and moved her piece. "Do you like it here?"  
"It's nice."  
"I thought that too for a while until you turned up and it changed."  
"What did I do"  
"You don't know?"  
"No. Tell me."  
She looked sad. " I can't."  
"Why not?" He reached out to her but a hand stopped him. Perry.  
"I don't think so, she's mine."  
It was just them now.  
"You have Julie."  
"Correction," He smirked. " You have Julie. Jesus, how can she like you more than me? I mean have you seen yourself? Do you even know what you done to her?"  
What is your response supposed to be when you're a part human corpse?  
"What do you want me to do Perry?"  
"Stay away from my girls."  
"But.. I can't! Theres something about them.."  
"Oh..that."  
Perry and the beach dissolved and his apartment took it's place.

"I thought you wanted to talk?" He followed Hannahs voice into his bedroom where she was lounging on the bed wearing what looked like his old tshirt, bloodstains and all.  
R slumped next to her and she rested her head on his shoulder.  
"Do you really hate me?"  
She laughed and hit his arm. "Why would I hate you?"  
"It's just whenever I see you around you'r-"  
"A bit of a bitch?" Julie walked in and sat on the window ledge.  
"Yeah, that!" R nodded.  
"..you really think I'm a bitch?"  
"Well you could be a little nicer."  
"Why should I be?!" Hannah yelled, jumping up. "Did you ever think of asking me what was wrong?"  
"Would you tell me if I did?" He asked.  
"Of course she wouldn't!" Julie laughed.  
"Why not?"  
"Because you've got to wake up now. Julie's been knocking on the door for five minutes." Hannah shrugged.  
"It's true." Julie nodded. "You forgot we had plans?"  
"Such a shame." Hannah tutted. "Always forgetting.." She grinned and held a gun up to his head. "Time to wake up and sort your life out zombie boy."

Whilst that wasn't the nicest introduction to dreaming, at least he knew he could do it.  
R got climbed out of bed and stumbled to the front door, opening it to a frustrated looking Julie.  
"About time! I was almost going to break the door down or something, what the hell were you doing?!"  
"Sleeping."  
"Sleeping?" She looked at her watch. "It's five thirty! Well we're behind schedule now so you're going to have to come with me as you are. Grab your stuff and let's go!"  
He nodded and went back in to grab his keys, catching a brief reflection of himself in the mirror looking more dead than usual with the interesting bed hair.  
"What were we.. doing anyway?" He yawned.  
"Getting you all dolled up to go out!" She winked.  
"Great.."

"Help me take these will ya Perry?" One of his friends handed him a crate and they started walking over to one of the barns.  
"Okay but i've got to go after this."  
"You still bothering throwing a birthday party for that chick? You're either brave or stupid." He rolled his eyes and laughed.  
"What do you mean by that?"  
"Well if I had a smoking hot girlfriend like Julie, I would be wanting to make her happy considering.."  
"Considering what?"  
"Her and that zombie guy seem to be getting pretty friendly."  
He put the crate on the floor and crossed his arms. "What are you saying?"  
"Nothing man.."  
"Don't start bullshitting me. You think theres something going on with them?"  
"You don't?"  
Perry looked at his friend, trying hard to not seem bothered that someone else had noticed what he had been thinking.  
"Give me a cigarette."

R was in Julies room with her and Nora. He was sitting on the floor and surrounded by heaps of clothes they had got from the store.  
"It's hard to find a shirt to match your eyes when they're so damn unnatural!" Nora laughed.  
"Why.. are we doing this a-nyway?"  
"Because it's Friday night and the bar actually has some alcohol in!"  
"Plus," Julie smiled, holding up another shirt, "it's a good opportunity for people to get to know you. Do you like this one?"  
"No."  
Nora sighed. "You're so difficult, just pick one!"  
"Fine, that one." R pointed to a red and black striped shirt near Julie.  
"What is it with you and red?"  
He shurgged acting like he didn't know. The truth was, red was the only colour that had any vibrancy in a world where almost everything was grey, it was life. He had also became quite attatched to the red hoodie he had spent years wearing. It got thrown away when he came to the city and he had made a mental note to try and find a similar one.  
"I think it will look good, now we've just got to sort your hair out." Julie clapped. "Who knows, you might even look human."  
"He does look different though, like even though you've only been here for just over a week you have changed."  
"Good change?" R asked.  
"Very good." They said in unison.

There were two bars in the city, one that was frequented mostly by the older generations and the army, and the other was home to anyone under thirty. It was only on a rare occasion that either would serve alcohol, it was very difficult to get hold of on supply trips, everyone seemed to have taken what they could and used it to drown their sorrows, however there was a very small supply that would be bought out when one of the men that ran the city thought the citizens needed a morale boost.  
It had been a very hot summer and a poor fall in terms of harvest meaning there would need to be more trips out in order to keep food supplies steady and rumors of recent trips meeting grizzly ends that were spreading around were being quickly squashed by the army. The drink on offer that evening was there as a distraction.  
The most popular bar was infact a small, old bookstore but it had been completley emptied, the books used for fires, only the best ones saved. Drinks were served at the far end by a tall red haired girl and her brother. There were a few tables and chairs scattered around but most were up the iron spiral staircase. It was quieter up there and where you would go if you wanted to get away from the people enjoying themselves, which was rare. Like most of the city it's main light source was from candles but it had a limited electricity supply used for the jukebox in the corner. Most of the songs were dated, the most recent from the early ninties, but no one cared, apart from Hannah who had been there for an hour already.  
"You bring me here and I have to listen to this shit?"  
"How can you not be a fan of the Backstreet Boys?!" Matt laughed and handed her a drink.  
"Wow.. flat cola, thanks."  
"Oh stop being miserable, try and enjoy your birthday."  
"I will if I can have beer."  
"Later."  
"No, now. You promised me one just for putting on this stupid outfit." She pointed at the green dress she was wearing with a black knitted sweater over the top, her choice, all poorly accesorised with her combat boots. She wasn't keen on dresses. Skirts were fine sometimes but dresses needed an occasion and one such thing didn't exist in a world with zombies.  
"Fine, i'll get you one when Perry gets here."  
"I thought your girlfriend was supposed to be coming?"  
"She might do later, someones got to look after the kid though."  
"Why don't you just shoot it?"  
The statement made a few people standing by them turn around to face her with a look of disgust.  
"What?" Hannah asked. "Put it out of it's misery whilst it's still young. Save it from growing up in this hell.."  
Matt looked angry. "Say that again Hannah. I dare you."  
"It's just logical.."  
"You're the one that needs shooting. You're sick in the fucking head." He spat before storming out of the bar, leaving Hannah standing by herself in a room full of people who probably shared the same view.

"I told you before, you need to keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself!" Perry hissed.  
He had turned up with Julie, Nora and R a while after Matt had left but he was the only one giving the now slightly drunk birthday girl any attention.  
"But you know why I said it, don't you? This world, it's not a place for anyone, especially not kids."  
He rubbed his forhead, getting a headache from the conversation. "Just.. don't say things like that to people, it upsets them."  
"Sorry." She sulked.  
"It's not me you need to apologise to, but worry about tha-" He crooked his neck to look behind Hannah and saw Julie laughing and joking with R and some of her friends. His fists tensed instincitvley. Maybe his friend was right. They were getting close.  
"What are you staring at?" Hannah asked, turning her head. "Oh.. that freak show."  
"Another drink?" Perry put his arm around her shoulder and dragged her to the bar where they proceeded to consume a large amount of vodka in a very short space of time.

Julie was dancing with Perry and Nora was upstairs leaving R who was sitting at one of the tables in the far corner, watching Hannah try in vain to make friends with people that wanted nothing to do with her.  
He couldn't blame them, she had showed him very little in the way of kindness but he was still drawn to her and his dream had been playing on his mind since he woke up.  
_"Did you ever think of asking me what was wrong?"  
_He hadn't really, but he was about to.

"Fine, you all seem like bitches anyway!" She yelled as a group of girls walked away from her.  
"Hi.." R muttered.  
Hannah spun around and looked at him a little taken aback. He actually looked decent. "What do you want?"  
"Uhm.." This was the first time he had to start a conversation with her alone. Normally someone else was around.  
"You certainly have a way with words." She smirked, grabbing her drink from the side and downing it.  
"Uh.. What's wrong? You're- always angry, with me.. mostly. W-why?"  
She chuckled to herself and shook her head. "I'm not dealing with this crap.."  
"What have I done?"  
That hit a nerve and she stared at him the same way she did when they first met. It was almost impossible to pick out a specific emotion.  
"What have you done?" She whispered. "What..ha.. the fact you're even asking.. you forgot!" She shouted.  
"Forgot what?" He asked, genuinley confused.  
"Me! You forgot me!" A tear rolled down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away.

The shouting had caught Perrys attention and he nudged Julie, pointing at them.  
"This isn't going to end well.."

R didn't know how to respond to someone who seemed so upset.  
"I thought I meant something to you! I thought maybe you would.. you stupid thick zombie fucks ruin everything!" Hannah kicked the wall nearest to her.  
Most people in the bar were paying the pair no attention, used to her outbursts.  
"I knew you?" R tried to sound more confident than he felt.  
"We were best friends!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Best friends and you don't remember?"  
He shook his head.  
"Is that it? I meant that little to you? We even had sex once and you don't remember that?!"  
They did? That would be something to tell M whenever he next saw him.  
"No.."  
"And you had the nerve to ask me what was wrong.." She shoved him before walking out of the bar.

Julie looked a little shocked. "I wasn't expecting that. Hey, where are you going?"  
Perry stumbled over to R, he had deffinatley had too much to drink, and patted him on the back.  
"It's true you know. Well I don't know about you two doin' it because, I don't even wanna know, but.. come with me."

They were in Perrys apartment, Julie sitting at the table and R standing by the window, no one knew where Hannah had gone.  
"If it's anywhere, it will be in here." He was looking the the drawer by the sofa, he was careful to try and put them back the way there were because all hell would break loose if she knew someone had gone through her things. "Here it is." He grabbed the photograph and handed it to R. "Proof you deffinatley knew her."  
R studied it, looking at everyone, smiling, happy, not dead. He was expecting some sort of feeling or memory to come back, something in his brain to just wake up and remember but it didn't happen, even when he just looked at him and Hannah, they might as well have been complete strangers. It upset him a little that this was some of the life he had spent years wondering about and he had no connection to it and that he managed to hurt the only person that might be able to bring his past back.  
"Can I keep this?" He asked.  
"No, she'll know if it's gone."  
"Okay." R nodded."I'm gonna go.."  
"I'll let you out."  
"Night." Julie smiled.  
He half waved and went out the door.  
"Hey R." Perry leant against the side.  
"Yea?"  
"It's your fault Hannah's the way she is. Fix it."


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N; __Sorry it's been a while, depressions been getting the best of me recently, please forgive me if this chapter kind of sucks because of that.__  
Thank you to the anon who left a long review.  
__I loved reading what you thought, infact I read it several times, it was really nice to have some input. Some of the things you mentioned I was planning on keeping/doing anyway, they just might be bought forward a little earlier._

Julie tried to seem concerned when Hannah came in the next morning. She had spent the night and was reading an out of date magazine on the sofa that was for once, fit for purpose.  
"What happened to you?" She asked, noting the trail dried blood on Hannahs leg.  
"I fell over." She shrugged.  
"Can't handle your drink huh?"  
"Shut up Julie."  
"No, you know what, I won't. You were a bitch last night to everyone, especially R."  
Hannah crouched down and rummaged in the fridge. "What do you care? He's not your boyfriend."  
"I care because he's my friend and didn't deserve that."  
"I'm sure he'll get over it."  
"You're the one that needs to get over it!"  
Hannah shut the fridge and turned around, leaning on the counter. "Okay, what hormonal bullcrap do you have to share with me?"  
Julie put her magazine down and walked over to her. "This." She said, gesturing at the girl. "This attitude, this whole, fuck me, fuck the world thing. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself! You're awful, you're selfish, rude, you make no effort to acknowledge other people who for God knows what reason, actually try to be nice to you!"  
Hannah rolled her eyes. "Anything else?"  
"Yes. If you hate yourself and this life as much as you seem too, why don't you take the advice you obviously spent so much time carving into your arm and just die?"  
"Thanks alot J, that was just what I needed to hear this morning." She patted her on the head as she grabbed her pager from the side table that was going off.  
"He can't remember anything about before. Are you even going to try and help him?"  
She paused for a moment and looked at the messaged on the screen before putting it back down. "I don't have any intentions of doing so."  
Julie smiled sadly to herself and shook her head. "You're so much worse that I thought."  
"Well, life's full of dissapointments. I'd love to stay and chat but I need to go, your dad wants to see me."

Matt was leaning against the wall as Hannah came into the corridor. His arms were crossed and he was clearly still bothered by the previous night.  
"On time for once." He noted. "Could have changed your clothes though."  
"I haven't had time. I'm sorry for how I was last night by the way." Hannah said as she knocked on Grigio's door.  
"Like hell you are! What, did Perry tell you to say that or something?"  
"Yup."  
He let out a small laugh. "At least you're honest. Seriously though, don't even think about saying anything like that again, or there will be trouble."  
"Fine. Why are you here anyway? I thought he wanted to see me alone."  
"You forget, your job performance is partly my responsibility."  
"I'm in trouble or something?"  
"I don't know." He held open the door for her and the both went in and took a seat at his desk.  
"Seems like i'm here too often." Hannah smiled.  
"I would agree." Grigio said. "Infact, it was not my choice to bring you in today but no one else seems to want to deal with you. I however, enjoy the challenge."  
"And what would that be Sir?"  
"Asking you to arrange the groups for the supply trip in a few weeks."  
"Why would that be a problem? I've done it before." Hannah cautiously took the folder he held out to her and read through it quickly. "..is this a joke?"  
"No."  
"You think this is a good idea? What's wrong with you?!"  
"What is it?" Matt asked trying to glance over.  
"They want to send thirty people out."  
He looked at the floor and stayed silent.  
"You have a problem?"  
She stood up and slammed the folder onto the desk. "Yes I have a problem! We couldn't even make sure twelve people were safe last time! Or are you forgetting what happened to Julie and the others on the last trip?!"  
His face dropped. "I am well aware of what happened last time, however we need to send people out, we are running lo-"  
"And who's fault is that?!"  
"Hanna-"  
"No, this is ridiculous! Are you really okay with letting people sign up to certain death?"  
"It's not certain death, you're overreacting."  
"I am not! If you send that many people out there with next to nothing, there is going to be a body count. There's rumours already!"  
"If you cared to read on, we have a way of rewarding those who sign up."  
"This is bullshit. I want nothing to do with it. I can't do this!"  
"You can't, or you won't?"  
Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and she rubbed them quickly with her sleeve. Matt slid down his chair a little, not wanting to be a part of the situation.  
"I.."  
"You're here on our terms. You know what happens if you refuse to do this?" He got up and walked over to the window and looked down at parking lot, vacant apart from one truck.  
"What if Julie signs up again? You'd be okay with that, knowing everything?"  
"She is old enough to make her own decisions.."  
"She's your daughter!"  
"and you are old enough to make your own decisions too. So, can I count on you to have a list of names by the end of next week?"

"You're so interesting R!" Nora smiled as she read through more test results.  
"Really?"  
"Yes. Medically speaking, you're a dream. I mean, you're dead but you're not.. who knows, maybe you could be the cure to whatever it is that made you like this!"  
"Is that.. what you're looking f-for. A cure?"  
She thought for a moment. " Maybe, but right now we'll focus on just you. Unless.. are there others?"  
"Zombies? Thousands."  
"No, ones like you. Ones who can communicate, refrain from biting and all that."  
"Oh. I don't know. When I left.. there might have been.."  
"Can I ask you something R?" She sat down on a chair next to him.  
"Sure."  
"A few of us have a theory about you. You don't have to answer if you don't want but.. some of the group Julie was with didn't come back. Did you have anything to do with it?"  
He nodded.  
"Okay, well that doesn't surprise me. Next question, did you kill a guy with blonde hair, maybe a little taller than me?"  
He nodded again, feeling ashamed. "I don't like killing. I just.. have to.."  
"It's fine, i'm not judging you! Does anything happen when you kill them though, to you?"  
"Memories. We get them."  
"So you become them?"  
"No. We just.. keep them, for a while. Sort of."  
"The guy you killed was a uhm, close friend of Julies shall we say. They dated on and off for a while before she got with Perry. "  
"Oh." He thought that would explain the reason he didn't know if he wanted her as a friend, or something more.  
"If you had killed, and I'm guessing ate someone who maybe, didn't like Julie, would you have hurt her? Was it only the fact it was someone who had feelings for her that you saved her?"  
"Probably." R shrugged.  
"Then maybe, if it was Perry, you would have loved her?"  
He didn't like the way this conversation was going. It was making him uncomfortable and reminding him about what he used to be and maybe still was.  
"I'm sorry, I was just curious."  
"No, it's okay." He smiled. He liked Nora. She was nice.  
"You can go now if you want anyway. You've left me enough to think about."  
"Okay, i'll see you around."  
"Just make sure you eat a bit more! You're looking a bit on the lanky side!" She waved as he walked out the clinic and straight into Hannah.  
"Sorry." He muttered, expecting a torrent of abuse. He looked down and noticed her eyes were red, like she had been crying.  
"It's fine." She shrugged. "I was looking for you anyway. Can you meet me tonight?"  
"Uhm, yeah.." His attention quickly went to the blood down her leg but he decided not to mention it.  
"Good. Eleven by the gates we were at the other day." She pushed past him and walked into the building. He watched her for a few minutes, shouting and waving a small bottle around before he decided to go and find Julie.

R found it interesting that the airport he spent so much of his time in was better lit than the city, even though the lights would flicker and in some parts wouldn't work, it was still brighter.  
There were no street lights around, only the occasional wall lamp outside someones home. The dark didn't bother him. It just made the whole place seem lifeless.  
Hannah was sitting on the grass, leaning on the fence and tapping her gun on the floor by the time he turned up. She had changed her clothes and was wearing dark blue jeans and a black hoodie.  
She stood up as she saw him and started unlocking the gate.  
"About time." Her voice was quieter than usual, she seemed less sure of herself. "Come on."

They were standing infront of a large wooden storage box in a small clearing near the holding pen they had been at a few days previous. It was only lit up by the moon and the torch she had gripped between her teeth as she was fumbling with a padlock.  
R was hovering a little away from her, not wanting to get in her way and break whatever strange silence had fallen upon her during the walk. She said nothing to him, no snide remarks, no jokes, her gun was never even pointed in his direction. It was unusual, and obviously welcomed by him, but it was out of character and it made him uneasy.  
When the lock fell to the ground she threw back the top and waited for the dust to settle before waving him over.  
"You know what this is?" She asked quietly whilst peering into the almost empty box.  
He leant over and nodded, not needing a second look.  
"Thought you might. Do you know how to kill them?"  
"Sort of..they're..difficult."  
She shut the top back up and climed up to sit on it and stared at him. "Can you kill them though?"  
"Yes."  
"Then you have to help me."  
"Just shoot them a.. a few bullets and they.."  
"I can't."  
"Why?"  
"I just.. can't, okay? Plus it's gotten worse since you showed up!"  
R leant next to her, but left a space so she didn't have reason to attack him. "How?"  
"A few months ago I noticed one in the distance, just standing there. I know they don't have eyes but to me it looked like it was eyeing up every inch of the city, but I left it, didn't want to make things worse. It wasn't hurting anyone, plus I hadn't seen one before. It came back every other day then, just standing in the same spot, but since you showed up.. it has friends. More come each time, still standing there. They know I'm watching them. I know they're up to something. Are they dangerous?"  
"Like zombies?"  
"Yea."  
"Don't think so. They don't t-turn.. but they're strong."  
"Great." She sighed.  
"How did you kill this one?" He asked, tapping the box.  
"Luck."  
He looked down at her leg, remembering the blood earlier in the day. "That's how you got h..h-urt."  
"I tripped."  
"Don't lie."  
"Fine. I'm weak."  
R smiled to himself. "We find them hard t-to kill. We're strong.. more than you. You're not weak."  
"I'm not fishing for compliments R. Just answer me this, will you help me keep them away?"  
He wasn't quite sure why she was asking for his help when she seemingly had all the weapons the city had to offer at her disposal, but he didn't want to push it.  
"Yes."  
"Goo-"  
"But, you have to p-romise me, you won't come out.. here alone." He was looking at her, trying to catch her eye but she was just focusing straight ahead.  
"Hannah. Promise me. I don't want you getting hurt again." It came out with ease in a voice slightly different to his own, it was more assertive, like he knew saying her name a certain way would have her in the palm of his hand. He had her attention.  
"I don't make promises anymore." She jumped down, with tears in her eyes, the same kind the first time they met in the clinic. "Thanks for helping me.. or whatever.. R.."

_  
_


End file.
